Nigerian troops surround militant hide-out

MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (AP) — Army troops traded fire with Islamic militants Tuesday and deployed armored vehicles to surround the suspected hide-out of a radical Muslim leader accused of orchestrating three days of violence in Africa’s most populous nation.

A tense calm returned to several towns elsewhere in northern Nigeria after authorities imposed curfews and poured security forces onto the streets to quell a wave of militant attacks against police, which have killed dozens of people since Sunday.

Appealing for calm, President Umaru Yar’Adua told reporters: “This situation is being brought under control.”

Sporadic gunfire was reported through the day in Maiduguri, capital of Borno state, where some of the worst violence occurred Monday.

Later in the day, the army sent armored vehicles to Maiduguri and deployed them in a residential district that is believed to be a stronghold of the sect. Officers said they believed militant leader Ustaz Mohammed Yusuf was holed up in a house in the district.

As army vehicles approached and opened fire, sect members fired back, soldiers said. An Associated Press reporter in the area saw smoke billowing above homes.

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